CDFI Resources Allow Naval Veteran to Serve His Community

Acumen Building Enterprise operates in a low-income income neighborhood in East Oakland, CA, where 25 percent of residents live below the poverty line. After serving his country in the United States Navy, Walter Allen saw the importance of supporting this neighborhood. In 1994, he founded Acumen Building Enterprise, Inc. (Acumen), which specializes in providing professional services to municipal and state transportation agencies, including local public transit operators BART and AC Transit, as well as CalTrans (California's state department of transportation).

Planning to Apply to the FY 2019 BEA Program Application Round? Review These Helpful Tips Today!

If your FDIC-insured bank or trust is contemplating submitting an application to the upcoming fiscal year (FY) 2019 funding round for the Bank Enterprise Award Program (BEA Program), you may find the following information helpful as you plan.

  • The CDFI Fund anticipates opening the FY 2019 BEA Program application round in late-April 2019.

CDFI Finances Industrious West Virginian's Success

Many American small businesses began as good ideas born out of necessity and were then grown out of home offices or garages. The Mountaineer Brand small business is no exception. While growing a beard may seem like a natural and simple thing, in reality it isn?t. Growing and maintaining a well-groomed beard requires the use of products that reduce skin irritation and ensure healthy facial hair. In response to this need, Eric Young developed a natural beard oil in his kitchen. His own luxurious beard soon became the best advertisement for his product.

Spirit of the Tongass: Providing Financial Services in Remote Alaska

In 2005, the only bank branch that served the Metlakatla Indian Community in Alaska closed. An island community only accessible by boat or float plane, Metlakatla was left without a way to easily access basic financial services. Community employees struggled to cash payroll checks through their Tribal government office, which typically ran out of cash well before the last person was served; likewise a local ATM machine would run out of cash within hours of being reloaded. There was a great need for a financial institution in the community.

Gail Thomas

Gail Thomas
None

BLOG POSTS BY GAIL THOMAS

New Markets Tax Credits Help Museums Increase Community Impact

FEBRUARY 28, 2019

Historically, museums have been defined as buildings where objects of historical, scientific, artistic, or cultural interest are stored and exhibited. But, many museums have evolved into education centers that actively engage with surrounding communities (...)

CDFIs Help Make Manufactured Housing Affordable for America

JULY 09, 2019

Homeownership has always been a major part of the "American Dream."? While conventional site-built housing has become out of reach for many Americans, manufactured housing has made homeownership attainable for many low- and moderate-income families priced (...)

New Markets Tax Credits Help Museums Increase Community Impact

Historically, museums have been defined as buildings where objects of historical, scientific, artistic, or cultural interest are stored and exhibited. But, many museums have evolved into education centers that actively engage with surrounding communities (including those that are underserved) to provide hands-on educational experiences and cultural enrichment that would not otherwise be available.

Jeff Merkowitz

Certification Policy and Evaluation
Jeff Merkowitz
Senior Advisor

Jeff Merkowitz is Senior Advisor to CDFI Fund Director Jodie Harris and brings over two decades of both policy and direct, on the ground experience in the areas of housing finance and community development. He previously served as Director of Operations and Legislative Assistant to U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer, where he was responsible for crafting the Senator's policy responses to both the foreclosure crisis and the longstanding shortage of affordable housing in California. His work for the Senator to expand refinancing opportunities led to over 2 million struggling homeowners being able to refinance their mortgages at historically low rates, and he led efforts in the Senate to push the Federal Housing Finance Agency to fund the Housing Trust Fund and Capital Magnet Fund.

Prior to his time in the Senate, Merkowitz served as the Chief Financial Officer for Opportunity Fund, a certified CDFI. There he created the financial infrastructure to manage over $25 million in lending programs for affordable housing development and small businesses, as well as receive and distribute $50 million in New Markets Tax Credit allocations, and developed key partnerships with local and national banks. While in California, he also was a director on the board of InnVision, the largest homeless services provider in the South Bay.

Additionally, Merkowitz served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Costa Rica, where he organized local women's groups to start up small businesses and provided assistance to rural communities with small development projects such as bridges, roads, health posts, and potable water projects. He is a graduate of Princeton University and earned a MBA from the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan.

MESSAGE FROM CDFI FUND DIRECTOR JODIE HARRIS

As the new Director of the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund (CDFI Fund), I am thrilled to have the opportunity to lead an organization with such a strong history of facilitating investment and lending in distressed and underserved communities across the country.

It is also particularly exciting to be part of the CDFI Fund team again. I have worked with the CDFI Fund in various capacities over the last 12 years, and I know firsthand the dedication and talent the CDFI Fund staff bring to their jobs each day. I am proud to contribute to this important work!

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